The Bronte sisters can without doubt be called some of the greatest romantic writers of all times. Throughout their lives, they have greatly contributed to the English Literature and have written many timeless classics that reflect the lifestyle of the times, and the attitudes of the people. Emily and Charlotte Bronte’s style of writing, is a great example of romanticism, which was the popular writing style in the eighteen hundreds. The two novels that are considered their greatest masterpieces are Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
Throughout the two books, there are several recurring themes that stand out the most: The role of women in the society, the emergence of feminism, the importance of education, and the dominant influence of mysticism and superstition on people at the time. In this paper, I would first like to portray the influence of mysticism in the two novels, as well as to demonstrate how the everyday use of mysticism in their society is reflected in the writings of the Bronte sisters. In the novel Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, mysticism is one of the prevailing themes.
One of the first occurrences of a mystical situation is when Jane gets locked up in the Red Room where her uncle had died. When it starts to get dark, she thinks that she sees her uncle’s face in the mirror, and becomes frightened thinking that he has come to get her. However, it is probably Jane’s own reflection, and because she’s a terrified little girl, she believes that it is really a ghost. In the novel Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, the mirror is also used to give a sense of the supernatural.
When Catherine Earnshaw’s health fails and she’s on her deathbed, she thinks that she sees a face in the mirror, which she interprets as an omen of death. Once more, the face is probably her own reflection and because she’s sick and feverish, she thinks that she sees a ghost. The other important example of the use of mysticism in Jane Eyre, occurs when Jane is away from Thornfield and living with her cousins. She’s about to make a decision to leave England, when she hears Mr. Rochester’s voice, calling her. That is most likely the figment of her imagination, however she considers it real enough and responds to the call of the voice.
As it turns out later, Mr. Rochester, in turn, hears Jane’s response and accepts it as real. In the novel, Wuthering Heights, there’s a similar example. Heathcliff claims that ever since Catherine died, he has been hearing her voice. He claims that she has been talking to him and that her ghost visits him from the grave. Here, the influence of mysticism is a very important clue to the true nature of the characters. When Jane thinks that she hears Mr. Rochester’s voice and he hears her respond, the reader can determine that the bond between the two must be so strong as to transcend into the surreal.
Also when Heathcliff tells us that he has been hearing Catherine’s voice we becomes aware to what extent Catherine’s death has affected Heathcliff, and begin to sympathize with him. Thus we come to the conclusion that the mention of mystical occurrences, plays a big part in the unfolding of the story. One of the last major examples of mysticism in the two stories that has a strong influence on the plot, deals with ghosts. As Charlotte Bronte writes, when Mr. Rochester first came to Thornfield at night on his horse, he encountered Jane Eyre, who was walking back home in the woods.
On account of the fact that they have never before met, he was startled to see her so suddenly. He did not notice the patch of ice and he and his horse slipped. However, before Mr. Rochester found out that Jane caused the accident, he assumed that it must have been a ghost or a fairy of some kind, that has caused the fall. In Wuthering Heights, a lot of emphasis is also placed on ghosts. After Heathcliff passes away, he is buried according to his instructions. However, a short while after, many villagers swear that they’ve seen Heathcliff walk abroad. They claim that he has been seen in church, on the moors and outside Wuthering Heights.
Nelly, the servant, tells us that she met a little shepherd boy who said that he has seen Heathcliff and a woman walking out on the moors. When we read about Mr. Rochester’s initial analysis of the accident in the woods, the readers preconceives him to be a superstitious man, a man that believes in fairies and goblins. However, later we are told that Mr. Rochester is a realist who interprets life as it is. The fact that a man like Mr. Rochester believes in the supernatural demonstrates to us that in those days it was very common to associate everyday mishaps with the abnormal.
In Emily Bronte’s book, people also claim that they see ghosts walking around and scaring people. That supports the idea that people believed ghouls to be messing up their everyday lives. Since at that time, the belief in the mystical and the supernatural was so strong, it has had a strong influence in the novels of the Bronte sisters. A lot of times it is that belief that gives some of the most important clues in the description of the character. It shows their weaknesses and their strengths, and sometimes lets us have the greatest insight into their personalities. It also plays a big part in the style of writing used by Emily and Charlotte.
Romanticism is often very descriptive, and by including mysticism as part of their story, the writers get the opportunity to give us an in depth perception of the characters. Many of the Bronte’s novels are told from first hand experience and the narrators often get the ideas for their stories from their own adventures. Therefore, we can conclude that mysticism has had a big part in their lives, because it prevails in their narratives. Emily and Charlotte Bronte have made great contributions to English Literature. They can easily be called two of the most influential writers and poetesses of the romantic period.
Their style of writing is very descriptive and full of metaphors. The use of mysticism in their novels gives us the opportunity to understand the characters more closely. In many of their stories, the main characters are willful and morally strong people, who are faced with a great deal of hardship. The detailed description of those characters is very engaging and keeps the reader involved. The two masterpieces Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, and Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte are two of the greatest works of romantic literature.